Washington (CNN) - Which political party would Tom Clancy have blamed for the federal government shutdown?

Probably Democrats, as the star American author of espionage was a conservative champion and outspoken critic of left-wing politicians.

Clancy, who once said "the only two things the government does well is take money and kill people," died Tuesday in Baltimore at 66.

According to public records, Thomas Clancy of Huntingtown, Maryland, who was an insurance salesman with no prior military experience before his 1984 novel "The Hunt for Red October" skyrocketed him to fame, donated tens of thousands of dollars to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), as well GOP candidates, over the years.

The appellation "Tom Clancy's" applied to his novels and the movies, TV miniseries and popular video games they inspired.

Plumes bellowing from the World Trade Center towers seemed unimaginable before the 9/11 attacks. But Clancy imagined a terrorist hijacking a jumbo jet and flying it into the Capitol in his 1994 novel "Debt of Honor."

Following 9/11, Clancy said left-wing politicians were partly to blame for the attacks.

Speaking on the Fox News Channel in the aftermath of the attacks, he said "the CIA was gutted by people on the political left who don't like intelligence operations," adding that "as a result of that, as an indirect result of that, we've lost 5,000 citizens last week."

Influential Republicans approached Clancy and urged him to run for Congress at various times throughout his life.

He considered Republican challenges against then Democratic Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes in 1988, and Sen. Barbara Mikulski in the early 1990s. He was also thought to be considering a bid against Democratic Rep. Roy Dyson, but he never ran.

soundoff(9 Responses)

The Real Tom Paine

Nice. A failed insurance salesman who once declared that anyone who earned less than $250K a year was a loser, naturally declared for the GOP. He set an unfortunate precedent for many Americans who thought our military technology always performed flawlessly, when the track record is less than flawless, to be charitible.

October 2, 2013 03:49 pm at 3:49 pm |

Winston Smith

A few of the many reasons he's not worth reading. Never was , never will be.

October 2, 2013 03:55 pm at 3:55 pm |

Woman In California

Influential Republicans approached Clancy and urged him to run for Congress at various times throughout his life but he never ran.

NEVER RAN. This says it all doesn't it?

October 2, 2013 04:01 pm at 4:01 pm |

smith

Tom Clancy` novels were very good and I agree that Clinton`s gutting of the military and intel budgets may have contribtuted to 9/11. However,I still blame 99.9% of 9/11 on the Hijackers who actually did it.

October 2, 2013 04:06 pm at 4:06 pm |

Rudy NYC

Clancy, who once said "the only two things the government does well is take money and kill people," died Tuesday in Baltimore at 66.

Following 9/11, Clancy said left-wing politicians were partly to blame for the attacks.
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Rest in peace, but that's all I need to know about his personality right there. Enough said. Blamed 9/11 on liberals?